What it Means to be Human Defining what it means to be human isn’t something you often think about. In the Judenrat activity, I was put in a foreign, but a very real situation. I was forced to pick who lived and who died, and if the lives of a few did actually outweigh the lives of many, even if the lives of the few are helpless children and elderly people. To be human means you have the ability to feel and understand, because if we can’t do that then we’re no different from animals. At least that’s what I thought. Oskar Schindler was a businessman who was part of the Nazi Party. Oskar showed both sides of being a human, the good and the bad. He started off being manipulative and greedy, like how he only saved Stern so his business could continue running properly. As time goes on, Oskar starts to change and …show more content…
This could involve making sacrifices that some might not want to, but have to for the greater good. Oskar Schindler was a greedy, self centered, flirtatious businessman who only cared about two things, himself and money, and only did stuff for them. As his story progressed though this became less true. He started to see the impact him and his factory had, and even though he still cared about money, he wanted to help people too. When the war was over, he didn’t care about himself or money by the end. Money and himself were no longer important, and he put the other innocent people before anything else. This assignment made me reflect on myself and the people around me. I never really asked myself what it meant to be human until now. It showed me that people can change and make a difference in the people around them. Schindler might not have been the greatest person at first, but he soon realized how serious the situation actually was and quickly took action. Even though evil is out there, there is always someone trying to do some good
For example, he succeed his first quest for riches, but at the end of the war, he spent everything he made, and managed to save 1,300 Jewish men and women lives. Not too long after his factory, which produced enamels goods and munitions, Schindler's Jewish accountant put him in touch with some of the few Jews that has any remaining wealth. Furthermore, they invested in his factory, and in return, they would be able to work there and hopefully be spared. He was persuaded to hire more Jewish workers for his factory to pay off the Nazis so they would allow them to stay in
Night: Journal Writing Humanity consists of qualities that make us human, the way we love, care, and have compassion for others. In this novel, I can read about how people got tortured, and treated so badly that they were completely dehumanized. As I read how the Germans treated the Jews, for example, having little to no compassion for them, torturing them, making them live under the inexplicable circumstances they did. It rose upon me many questions based on how and why did this happen.
Hardly Human About 200,000 people that passed through the Auschwitz death camp during the Holocaust managed to survive. However, that number pales in comparison to the 2.1 to 4 million people slaughtered in that very same camp. Elie Wiesel, the author of Night, became one of the seemingly lucky survivors of this horrifying genocide. In this novel, Elie describes the agony he went through while going from one concentration camp to the next attempting to escape death.
Elie’s dramatic change and the fear of standing up for his father makes him realize how selfish he had become. With the passing days in the concentration camp, Elie also notices how much his life changed him into a monster. He explains, “What is more, any anger
Elie Wiesel is a Jewish boy who was taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp with his family. Elie Wiesel lived through the Holocaust and went through emotional and physical changes. Elie Wiesel was separated from his mother and sisters at the concentration camp; he is with his father for the rest of his father 's shortened life. Elie Wiesel watched as his father was beaten by the kapo, Elie witnessed numerous people die throughout his time in the concentration camps. Elie Wiesel and ninety nine plus people were shoved into train carts and taken various places, and were never told where they were going.
Schindler 's Transformation Oskar Schindler, a greedy nazi who’d people not expect to ever do anything good had an amazing transformation in his life. He is smart and knows how to get his way. But when most people think rich people are greedy his transformation proves otherwise. Schindler changed in many ways throughout his story. He started out tricking people to make money but ended up saving many Jews and his actions touched the hearts of many people.
The most prevalent theme throughout Schindler 's List is the fragility of life. Countless Jews are murdered throughout the film for minor offenses and most for no reason at all. The accurate representation of the liquidation of Krakow also demonstrates how little the Nazis cared for the Jews, people who had once been their neighbors. The interactions between the Nazi Lieutenant Goth and his maid represent the struggle some Nazis had with treating people as animals while their humane morals overpowered them at times. The value of life as determined by Schindler and Goth is diametrically opposed.
Humanity is capable of doing many things, both good and bad. Humans are selfish, we prioritize what is important to us and what is not. Brutal situations such as the Holocaust show the extent that a human being will go to survive. Elie and his fellow prisoners go through many hardships, such as starving and leaving loved ones to die. Each day for them, is a blessing because they do not know when they are going to die, it could be the next day or even the next hour.
It is obvious that Schindler risk his life, determining whether he did it out of empathy, impulse, self-interest, Influence is a good question. At one point if you would have asked me this question I would have said self-interest, but now looking at the full picture and watching the movie my vision of him has shifted. The things he saw and did, the way he took action, trying to save lives. Schindler was raised to believe to hate Jews at a young age, and everyone he new and maybe even trusted was going around tormenting jews and killing for fun. It makes me wonder if he truly was not sure of which way to go.
Something that not only him but everyone else had to do was he had to live in the ghettos. He has to live with these things for his entire life, he has to life with watching the annihilation. During the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel changes from a spiritual, sensitive little boy to a spiritually dead unemotional man. Elie changed completely due to his experience at Auschwitz.
Humanity is the sole quality that gives people individuality and morals and without it, there would be no hope for the human race because we would take what we want and not care about who gets hurt in the process. In the novel, Night, Elie Wiesel and his family are taken captive by SS officers and are then placed in concentration camps where they have to survive the unforgiving torment from the Nazis. Elie and his father become separated from Elie’s mother and sisters when they first arrive at Auschwitz and fight through bitter winter nights with little to no warmth, food, or water. Living in these conditions will undoubtedly change a person, and these experiences will not change them for the better. When placed in that position, people will
As he experiences multiple harsh moments, Schindler becomes a decent, unselfish, and a positive manipulating man. Schindler once said, “War brings out the worst in people.”, but he proves his own statement wrong by himself becoming a better man. As Steven Spielberg directs Schindler’s List, he profusely provides us with great details of how Oskar Schindler’s character has
During the time Elie Wiesel spent in the various concentration camps, it seems as though only the worst of events may occur, but Elie shows otherwise. He proves there is thoughtfulness and compassion in forms of words and actions. Elie is shown sympathy from a French girl, and the pure act of giving from his relative Stein. But in addition, a brave heart is willing to risk his life to save another person’s in the film The Pianist. Elie was in a unfortunate circumstance and was beaten for no apparent reason, and the French girl gave him hope.
Although everyone has the capacity to act good, there is also evil within everyone and it is only
People will sacrifice their own for others. They have the ability to change their mind from the worst, to the best. Deep down, everyone cares for something. People will sacrifice their own for others. Everyone makes a sacrifice, whether it be today or a century ago.